1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-317442 discloses a connector with a male housing that has a receptacle. Male terminal fittings are mounted in the male housing and a moving plate is accommodated in the receptacle to position tabs of the male terminal fittings. A female housing is inserted into the receptacle in a connecting direction and moves the moving plate from an initial position to a connection position.
Retaining projections are formed on an inner wall of the receptacle to restrict the moving plate at the initial position from separating from the receptacle. The moving plate is formed with a resiliently deformable wall. The female housing is locked to the wall and pulls the moving plate from the connection position back to the initial position when separating the female housing out of the receptacle from a state where the two housings are connected.
The retaining projections lock the moving plate that has reached the initial position in the process of moving the female housing in a separating direction to restrict a movement thereof. Thereafter, the moving plate is removed from the female housing by the resilient deformation of the wall and only the female housing is separated out of the receptacle.
A resilient restoring force of the resiliently deformed wall generates resistance in the process of removing the moving plate from the female housing and may reduce operability. Reducing a locking margin between the wall and the female housing has been considered as a countermeasure against this. However, this may cause the wall to be removed from the female housing while the female housing is pulling the moving plate back to the initial position from the connection position.
The invention was completed based on the above situation and aims to improve operability when separating a female housing from a moving plate.